Editorial: Parity in mental health coverage

The MetroWest Daily News

Monday

Jun 30, 2008 at 12:01 AM

The difference between mental illness and physical illness is all in your head. Sick is sick, and the sicknesses that strike the brain can be just as debilitating as those that attack other organs, and often more so.

The difference between mental illness and physical illness is all in your head. Sick is sick, and the sicknesses that strike the brain can be just as debilitating as those that attack other organs, and often more so.

But treatment for many mental illnesses is harder to find, mostly because of old attitudes that blame the victim for mental illness, and health care economics. Insurers and government agencies that pay for the treatment of physical illness would rather avoid the sometimes steep cost of treating mental illness.

But that cost is easily exaggerated. The Congressional Budget Office estimates covering mental illness at the same rates as medical and surgical treatment would raise insurance premiums by about .4 percent. And it would be hard to overestimate the costs of letting serious mental illness go untreated: family breakup, lost productivity, crime and suicide.

After years of debate, Congress is moving toward agreement on bipartisan legislation requiring parity in the way mental and physical illnesses are covered. The Massachusetts House last week approved a bill, sponsored by Rep. Ruth Balser, D-Newton, that would extend the state's parity requirements to include treatment for addiction, eating disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder.

While there will continue to be opposition from those whose first concern is expense, we see this as an important step toward giving those who suffer from severe mental illness the respect - and the treatment - they deserve. The state Legislature's session is due to expire at the end of July. Before it adjourns, the Senate should act favorably on Balser's mental health parity legislation.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.